• by Les Luchter , over 1 hour ago

Andre Royo, largely known for playing police informant “Bubbles” on HBO’s “The Wire,” highlights “Stop Alzheimer’s Disease,” an awareness campaign from the BrightFocus Foundation.

In a :60 PSA distributed by Connect360 Multimedia, Royo relates his anguish in dealing with his late mother’s Alzheimer’s disease. “I don’t want anyone to have to suffer and see what I saw or go through what I went through,” he says, noting that 900,000 Americans develop Alzheimer’s annually, but that viewers can learn how to reduce their risk and about the latest research into the disease by visiting StopAD.org.

That site provides more info about Royo’s story, along with the stories of two caregiver/advocates caring for their own moms:  Teri Youngdale, seen here, and Leticia Franchi, featured in this Spanish-language spot.

Royo is also writer, director and star of a new BrightFocus-sponsored 15-minute short film, “Fragments of Joy,” in which he plays a character showing  “strength in the face of adversity mirroring his mother’s struggle with the disease.”  

BrightFocus tells Marketing Daily that it will be “organizing an impact campaign” for “Fragments of Joy” that will promote educational and community screenings of the film, which is offered with Spanish subtitles and accompanied by a bilingual discussion guide.

Goals of the “Fragments of Joy” campaign include reducing disease stigma, promoting early detection and diagnosis, increasing awareness of brain health, providing accessible education around lifestyle interventions and cognitive health, providing resources and support for addiction and memory concerns, and reaching under-resourced communities.

BrightFocus, which focuses on vision as well as brain health, has previously run Alzheimer’s disease PSAs featuring the personal story of former New York Times journalist Phil Gutis.